


Nightmare at the Gala

by NightOwl1600



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Batdad, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Scared Batdad, Worried Batdad, bruce is overprotective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 02:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14885828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightOwl1600/pseuds/NightOwl1600
Summary: When an amateur group of bad guys get their hands on fear toxin, they decide to use it on their next big game: the semi-annual Gotham Leaders Family Gala. And lo and behold, your favorite vigilante family just happens to be there too. But without their alter egos, they’re just another helpless rich family with easily kidnap-able kids. Will a frantic, fear toxin induced Bruce Wayne get his head together to save them? Or will he accidentally reveal his family’s biggest secret?





	Nightmare at the Gala

**Author's Note:**

  * For [To my 1000 tumblr followers](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=To+my+1000+tumblr+followers).



> Here's my gift to all of you! This was written for the 1000 followers post on my tumblr. Hope you all enjoy!

Bruce watched from a distance as Tim entertained some businessmen who were looking to make ties with WE. While he admired Tim’s dedication to work ethic and using the Gala to his advantage, he wished the teen would act his age for once, or at least try to enjoy himself like his siblings were doing. Although, enjoy wouldn’t exactly be the right word, would it?

Just to the side, near the walls of the room, were Cassandra and Damian measly trying to make it through the night. It was obvious they weren’t the happiest people in the room, but at least they seemed like they were trying. Bruce was hoping that they might make some friends by bringing them (it was a family gala after all) but it seemed like neither of the two were interested. So much for normal, civilian lives.

Dick was, as always, hanging around a group of very flirtatious women. Though it always bothered Bruce to see people objectify his kids in such a way, he knew that coming to the rescue would bother Dick even more. Plus Dick was very capable of handling the situation by himself. He was a grown man after all, but God forbid if Bruce still wanted to protect him like he protected his younger children.

Jason was by himself, standing near one of the larger windows enjoying the view. They were on the top floor of one of Gotham’s highest buildings after all, and Jason had always loved being as high up as possible. Bruce was very glad he was able to convince the public that Jason’s death had been a cover up to keep him from the spotlight. He enjoyed bringing him to these parties because it made Jason more intertwined with the family outside of just the vigilante business. It gave Bruce more of an excuse to get Jason to come home.

All in all, things were going considerable well. No one was arguing with each other, no one was bleeding, no one was starting a fight. It seemed like the Wayne family was actually going to get through the night without trouble for once. 

Which was, of course, when everything went to Hell.

A group of about 5 suspicious looking men entered the room. Though they were dressed in tuxedos and servers outfits, Bruce could tell there was something off by the way they were moving. A quick side glance to Cass showed that her own defenses were going up, prompting a similar reaction in Damian, Jason, and Dick. Tim was too far from the rest to notice anything off putting. With the others putting up their defenses and moving to get better vantage points, Bruce quickly made his way to warn Tim.

But before Bruce could even get into Tim’s field of vision, the suspicious men had surrounded the room, blocked the exits, and dropped canisters on the ground. The crowd screamed as the cans expelled thick gas around the room. Bruce tried to cover his mouth, but it was really no use without his rebreather, which he couldn’t take out at the moment since he was Bruce Wayne and not Batman. 

The cans rapidly filled the room with fog. _Fear gas,_ Bruce noted. Shouting and chaos consumed the crowd as people began running from imaginary monsters. In the rush of the moment, Bruce had lost sight of Dick and Jason, but further down the room, near one of the many doorways, he could see Cass, Tim, and Damian being aggressively herded out by men with guns. _Why weren’t they fighting back?_ _They were crime fighters. They could stand down the barrel of a gun and come out without a scratchwhyweren’ttheydoinganything—_

No. No they’re doing the right thing _._ Bruce had to remind himself. They were in civilian, so no resistance. Right now, they were normal, average people who were not masters in several different fighting techniques. But something in Bruce was pushing him into fight mode, something very strong that he couldn’t quite get under control.

People were still running around, smashing into things, crying, screaming. Then it finally clicked into Bruce’s already hazy head. The fear gas was affecting his thoughts and emotions, which were the exact characteristics of fear gas. But without his suit or gear, he was defenseless to the chemical.

_No that’s not right. He’s Batman, and Batman stumps the affects of fear gas with pure determination and concentration. He was not falling into that trap._

He started moving towards the place he had last seen Tim, Cass, and Damian being pushed away. Batman was supposed to protect his allies, especially his younger ones. _He needed to save them._ But to save them, he needed to find them.

_The comms. He could contact them through the comms._

He raised a hand to feel for the device in his ear. To his surprise, it was gone, as well as the rest of his cowl.

_Why in the world had he taken off his cowl while fighting Scarecrow?_

Then he remembered he wasn’t Batman right now, and realized the gas was slowly warping his mind. He was having a very difficult time differentiating what was real and what was imaginary; who he was at the moment and who he was not.

_No, focus. They’re in danger. They need Batman right now._

He couldn’t see anything through the hallucinations and the people and the fog. He didn’t have his comm either. So he did the only thing he could think of doing. Shout and wait for a reply. “Robi—“

Something slammed into him, cutting him off before he could finish the word. “Shut up, old man!” the figure spoke as they fell to the ground. Its hand was over Batman’s mouth, muffling his shouts for Robin, Red Robin, and Black Bat.

The figure was just a blob in his incredibly blurry vision. He couldn’t make out a face, or a body. Just a large, dark, blob. Batman struggled to get the thing off him, but the blob had only tightened its hold on him, refusing to let him move. Panic buzzed through his head as he realized that every second he spent on the ground would mean even more time lost in his search for his allies, his kids.

The world was spinning, and Batman was fighting with an animal like drive to get the blob off. Sound was muffled and gravity seemed to be tilting in all sorts of directions. His head hurt, and his heart felt like it was collapsing in on itself. He began pushing the blob with even more strength, driven solely by anger; anger at the thing for trying to keep him from saving his family.

“Get off!” Batman shouted as he threw the blob off him. He watched it tumble down to the floor. It seemed to have a human like body. Arms, legs, torso, head, but he couldn’t see the face. It had been blurred out of his vision.

It didn’t matter. As long as it didn’t stop him from moving, he didn’t need to know what the thing was. At least, it wasn’t he main priority at the moment.

Once again, he tried moving to the place he had last seen his family, but the fog seemed to get thicker. Or maybe it was his vision getting hazier. Either way, he couldn’t see where he was going, or the doorway his kids had been taken out from. The farther he walked, the more he stumbled on crying, screaming people just lying about or running around. They came into his field of vision, only to disappear within seconds.

He needed a way to find them even if he couldn’t see them. Without comms, the only was to shout. Batman breathed in, but in that exact instance, the blob had taken him from behind and covered his mouth. With the other arm, it pulled Batman back by the torso and into a wall were they both collapsed. 

“Bruce! Shut up already!” It shouted into his ear, then furiously whispered, “You’re about to let the secret spill.” The grip around his torso constricted, as if trying to will him not to move.

But Batman had bigger problems to worry about. In a few well-placed moves, he had flipped the two over so that the blob was crushed under his weight. Once it let go, Batman pinned it down to the ground so that it could no longer move. It squirmed under the pressure but eventually gave in.

“What the Hell are you?!” Batman savagely questioned the figure. He still couldn’t make out what the thing was other than a dark blob. “What have you done with them?! Where’s Red Ro—“

Once again, before he could finish, one of the figure’s hands had escaped his grip and managed to cover his mouth, muffling the rest of his sentence. He was about to get even more violent, when a very familiar, very angry voice cut through the haze.

“Come on you ass! Just listen! You’ve just gotten hit with fear gas. You aren’t thinking straight. Tim, Cass, and Damian were taken, but Dick’s getting them back. They won’t get away, but you gotta shut up! You are about to say something you are very much going to regret when you come to. So stop trying to put me back in my grave and get your head on straight!”

Bruce paused and tried to recall the events of the night. Yes, that was right, they were at a Gala. He wasn’t Batman right now so he couldn’t say their codenames. What had he been thinking? Yes, Tim, Cass, and Damian were taken, but if Dick was getting them back, then there wasn’t anything to worry about. He knew Dick wouldn’t let anything happen to his younger siblings. Everything was adding up and making sense. Bruce minutely relaxed and felt the waves of relief coming from the figure in front of him. Then he remembered.

He had brought five kids tonight. 

_Jason._  

The calm and logic had dissipated instantly and Batman was back on the offensive. Fury returned to his face, and determination and fear fueled his actions. “ _Where. Is. Jason_?!” He demanded with the undertone of a growl. The figure’s voice was familiar, and had sounded trustworthy, but he had left out any information about Jason. Batman could believe what it had said about the others, but there must have been a reason it was hiding information about Jason.

Bruce was not going to let Jason down twice.

“Are you kidding me?!” It shouted furiously, but Batman was in no mood for jokes. He grabbed the figure and threw him to the side, right into a wall. “Ow! Bruce, are you serious?!”

Batman stalked up to the figure as it tried to recuperate on the ground and picked it up by the neck. It’s legs kicked in the air in attempt to get to Batman, but Batman slammed it into the wall and again threw it to the side. Not wasting a moment, he pounced on the figure, and in his most intimidating Batman voice, demanded “ _Tell me where you took him_!”

The figure pushed him off and scrambled back to gain distance. With the thing fully in his sight, Batman could now clearly make out exactly what he was up against.

It was a creature around the same size as him, but buffer and more…monster like. It had bat like wings and face, but a human like body covered in scales. Out of its head sprouted two enormous horns, while razor sharp claws decorated its hands. As it shifted into a fighting stance, it snarled and bared its yellow, pointed teeth with some spots of blood staining it that Batman hoped was not Jason’s.

“ _What have you done with Jason_?!” Batman shouted as he continued to fight. Punch by punch and kick by kick, Batman tried to subdue the creature as quickly as possible, but the thing was good. It dodged or blocked attack after attack. For something so big, it was quite nimble.

The creature tried to move back to gain some distance between the two and held up its hand in a pacifying manner, but Batman was not in the mood for wasting time. He needed answer and he needed them _now_. He continued his advance relentlessly and refused to acknowledge the creatures surrendering gestures.

The world was spinning again and everything sounded like they were under water. Batman paused for a moment, trying to regain his control, only to see the creature trying to say something. He could barely make out the words.

“-‘m here....hurt you…others…danger…need hel-….get your sh-…-gether!”

Most of the sentence was accompanied by a growl, which made it even harder to decipher the words. But right now, it didn’t matter to Batman. Right now, Jason needed him.

Before he could throw another punch, however, he looked straight into the monster’s eyes. For a moment, everything froze and he vaguely recognized the green, cautioned eyes staring back into his. It was almost familiar.

Almost, but not enough.

He moved the image out of his mind and went back to what he did best. Fighting. The two were locked in combat once again, but neither willing to back down. They were matched, but right when it seemed neither of the two would win, the creature made one crucial misstep. It tried to pin Batman down again. 

“Not this time!” Batman counter and rammed his knee into the monster’s stomach. The monster crumpled and sagged to the floor trying to catch its breath. Batman took the opportunity to grab it by the neck and interrogate it again.

He held it up above the ground and shouted, “What are you and what have you done with Jason?!”

The demon only kicked back in response. It’s mouth moved but the only sounds coming out were growls and screeches. Batman decided to take it to the next level.

Just to his left was a window large enough to stick the creature out of and high enough from the ground to be intimidating. Batman dragged the thing over, smashed it through the glass, and held it by the neck above the 60 feet drop. “ _Where is he_?!” 

Batman looked into its eyes again, and time seemed to slow. _He knew those eyes._

No. He couldn’t have known them. He keeps a very detailed account of all the people, aliens, creatures, or otherwise which he meets. He has no documented encounters with this thing…this demon.

_Demon._

Of course. It was obvious. How could he have been so blind? He was fighting a Demon, and what do demons do? They drag people down to their graves.

_It took him back. It had dragged Jason back into Death’s cold, relentless hands._

An image of Jason fighting this thing for his life flickered through his mind. Jason, broken boned and body bloodied, fighting the Demon with all his might as it dragged him back to his tombstone. Jason, calling for help, for anyone, for Batman. Then, as he’s thrown back into the hole, it blows up in a blaze of smoke and fire.

_No_. No, this was not how it ended. Batman wouldn’t let it end like this, not again. “Bring him back you damnation!” Batman shouted as his grip around the Demon’s neck tightened. Panic and fear was coursing through his body. The Demon struggled, kicking its feet in the air trying to get back to stable ground while also clinging on to Batman’s arm for dear life.

“Bring him back now! Tell me how to get him back!” Batman yelled. The Demon seemed to ignore his demands. The thing was his only solid lead to Jason, if it kept quiet or ran away, he might lose Jason forever. He might lose his son again.

He looked back at the Demon as its strength seemed to be slowly disappearing the longer it stayed in his hold. He didn’t have much time before it passed out or died, and he wouldn’t risk letting it go. If it had told him about the circumstances of his other children, maybe, if he could reach out as a father, maybe it would give him the information he needed. Worth a shot.

Batman took a deep breath. “Please. Please bring back my son. I already lost him once. I can’t loose him again. I’ll trade my life for his, just please bring him back.” Bruce cringed at his own plea. Batman _never_ begged, and neither did Bruce Wayne, but for Jason, for his family, he’d do it.

“ _Dad_.” The Demon whispered through a choke. 

The world went silent and calm for a moment as the word cut through the haze and chaos. Bruce looked into the Demon’s green, worry-filled eyes once again, and a spark of familiarity crossed his mind.

“Dad, its me. Its Jason,” it croaked. Bruce focused harder on what was really in front of him and not what the fear gas was making him see. There, in his hold, dangling above a 60 feet drop, was not a Demon, monster, creature, or blob, but his son, Jason. He looked ruffed up and weak as he tried to keep his eyes open. “Bruce, dad, please snap out of it…” he said. He was going slack.

It took Bruce a second to realize his mistake and pull Jason away from the window and back onto solid the ground. Exhausted, he and Jason both fell to the ground. Bruce laid still, trying to make sense of the situation. In truth, he couldn’t. The fear gas was strong and he couldn’t distinguish hallucinations from reality.

He turned to see if Jason was still beside him, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw there was no one around him at all. “Jason?” Bruce said as he tried to get his feet under him. The panic was coming back. “Jason! Jason, where are you?!”

Before Bruce could get up, something hard and metallic hit the back of his head. The world blurred and darkness swallowed him.

  

***

To say that it had been a very weird night would have been the understatement of the year. Jason Todd, who had been legally dead for several years, suddenly comes to a gala with the rest of the Wayne family claiming he faked his death in order to get away from the spotlight. Jason, who supposedly hated his family had gone together, in one car, with all of them, to some snotty, highclass, hypocritical gala with a fancy tuxedo and everything. And that wasn’t even the weirdest part.

Because what gala would be complete without an attempted kidnapping?

A kidnapping with fear gas no less. Jason had just been lucky his paranoia due to his recent Scarecrow incident prompted him to bring some fear gas antidote and a rebreather. He was also very lucky that he and Dick were able to slip from anyone’s notice when they ducked behind the bar counter just as the gas was being released and used the antidote and rebreather.

But because Dick had taken the rebreather and Jason had used the antidote, it was up to Jason to stay and check on Bruce while Dick got to go out and away from the gas to save the others. 

However, that was still not the weirdest event of the night.

When Jason finally found Bruce, he had to pounce the man before he could yell for Robin, Red Robin, or Black Bat. He was Bruce Wayne, and if anyone had heard that, it could raise many suspicions about the family. But Bruce just wouldn’t stop trying to yell for their names despite the many times Jason tried to cover his mouth and muffle the sound. Where was the duct tape when you needed it?

But had that been the weirdest part of the night? No, no it had not.

Because even after Jason had explained what was going on, and after Bruce had seemed to calm down, he suddenly got even more aggressive. But he wasn’t asking where the others were, he was asking where _Jason_ was. As if Jason wasn’t literally right in front of him. To give the man some credit, however, he had been under the influence of fear gas, and seeing things or not seeing things was a common side effect.

But it only got weirder from there.

Not only did Bruce attack Jason, he tried to flat out kill him. Bruce nearly choked him to death over a 60 feet drop. He was yelling and asking “Where is Jason?” and “What have you done with Jason?” as he was, ironically, choking Jason and calling him a, what was the word he used? “Damnation”? Probably thought he was a demon or something. 

But even that could not surpass the overwhelming weird moments that happened next. 

No matter how much he tried to reach out to Bruce, to talk him down or knock him out, nothing seemed to be working. Then, just as he was about to lose consciousness from lack of air, Bruce begged him (or whatever Bruce thought he was, the demon, he supposed) to give his son back. Suddenly, it wasn’t about Batman and his ally anymore, it was about Bruce Wayne and his son, Jason Todd. Then and there it clicked in Jason’s mind and he tried one last resort. If Bruce was looking for his son, then maybe Jason calling for his dad would work, no matter how cheesy it may sound. After all, Bruce was still his dad, especially now that he was legally alive again.

And yes, it had worked. Bruce snapped out of it and pulled Jason back into the events room, thankfully still breathing. He would rather be caught dead than admit it, but Jason was touched on how hard Bruce fought to find him and bring him back. After he came back, and realized the Joker was still alive, Jason thought Bruce simply didn’t care for him as much as he thought he did, but tonight had proved him wrong. Bruce loved him, had probably always loved him, and was willing to trade his own life for Jason’s if it meant that Jason got to live. In that moment, with that sudden realization, Jason felt like he was…home.

Which was also the exact moment he hit Bruce in the head with a metallic serving tray because, face it, he did not want to be choked again anytime soon. 

And that was the story of how the now legally alive Jason Todd ended up in a hospital, with bandages wrapped around his neck for the bruising, sitting beside Bruce Wayne’s hospital bed waiting for him to wake up while Dick, Babs, Steph, and Alfred waited for Tim, Cass, and Damian to wake up in their own separate rooms right next door.

Yes, last night had been a very weird night, but the morning seemed to only get weirder.

Bruce shifted in bed as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Jason watched from a distance, just in case Bruce wasn’t done with his whole “Bring him back” tantrum from last night. Couldn’t hurt to be too cautious.

Bruce looked around the room in confusion. His eyes stayed on the ceiling as he tried to figure out where he was and how he’d ended up there. Then panic flooded anew and he remembered the gala. He took a sharp breath and tried to push himself up. Jason watched him carefully, as though waiting for another attack.

When Bruce’s eyes landed on him, Jason froze and all he could really do was stare back and hope for the best. “Jason?” Bruce asked, squinting to get his vision focused.

_Oh thank God_. “Yeah, its me” Jason answered. “How are you feeling?” 

“What happened last night?” Bruce questioned, getting straight to the point as usual. Jason winced as Bruce brushed over a lump on the back of his head that more than likely came from getting smacked with a serving tray.

“High class dining, amateur kidnappers, and fear gas. The usual,” Jason snorted as he went to get Bruce a glass of water. 

“The others? Are they okay?”

“Tim, Cass, and Damian got grabbed, but they never made it out of the building. The amateurs didn’t hack the security cameras, so the GCPD knew what was happening before they even made a move. The black van, guns, and fear gas cans where all caught on tape from one of the back entrance cameras. Cops stopped them once they reached the ground floor. Dick didn’t even need to go after them.” He handed Bruce the glass and took his seat. “They all have their own rooms next door.”

Bruce eyed Jason form head to toe, and Jason squirmed under the judgment. He didn’t like being stared at. “Jason,” Bruce said to get his attention, “Are you okay?” He was looking at the bandages on his neck now.

He avoided eye contact. “Aside from the bruises and new emotional trauma I’m fine. I’ve had worst” he joked. Bruce didn’t seem to like it though.

“Jay, did I…” Bruce trailed off as the gears in his head finally started working. Jason could have sworn he saw a flash of horror cross Bruce’s eyes.

“Its fine,” Jason quickly intervened, “I’m fine. Everyone’s fine. Secret safe. Done. You’re welcome.” He was tired. He hadn’t slept that well the entire night, and he honestly did not want to have a heart to heart with Bruce right now, or ever for that matter.

There was an awkward pause that left the room in silence, in which time Jason decided to get up and go tell the others that Bruce was awake. Before he could exit the room however, Bruce spoke up.

“Jason,” Bruce said calmly and evenly as he relaxed back into his bed and closed his eyes, “stay. Please.” He sounded exhausted. Jason didn’t miss the dual meaning in that request. He sat back down next to Bruce’s bed. He could always text the others to come.

“Don’t worry dad. I’m not going anywhere.”

**Author's Note:**

> What Jason was trying to say: "Bruce, I'm here. I don't want to hurt you, but we need to get out of here. The others are in danger and need our help. So hurry up and get your shit together!"
> 
> So again, thanks to everyone from my tumblr or from right here on AO3! You guys really make my day with the comments, notes, and kudos! I was really nervous at first opening up my tumblr and AO3, but you guys really made me feel welcomed to the fandom world.Thanks so much!
> 
> As always, constructive criticism, tips, and all that jazz is welcomed! Hope you enjoyed!


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